The Lilly scholarship is awarded each year to one student per county. To be eligible for this scholarship you must go through a hard application process. Although it is rare to earn the scholarship, Lewis Cass High School senior, Nick Park, has been accepted to the second round, the interview portion of the application process.
The Lilly Scholarship is awarded by the Cass County Community Foundation. The first Lilly Scholarship was awarded in 1998. Ever since then, one student has been awarded the scholarship and named one of the “Lilly Scholars” each year. The Lilly Scholarship awards a student with a full tuition scholarship to any four-year accredited baccalaureate granting college or university in the state of Indiana. As well as the four-year tuition scholarship, the student that wins the Lilly is given $900 each year to purchase books.
Since Nick Park has been accepted to the next round of the application, he was asked about his experience with his application process. Nick was asked how much work he put in to even apply for the first round of the application. Nick said he spent a great deal of time on the first application section. He said the first part includes statements of goals, lists of activities, a personal essay, as well as an explanatory meeting that is mandatory for all applicants to attend. Nick also said he spent a good amount of time in July brainstorming ideas for his personal essay and creating his list of awards he has been awarded. Once school started, Nick spent any free moments in class working on his essay. He also said he found it hard to keep track of all the different versions of Google Docs he had to use while editing on the essay. Park also said Lewis Cass teacher, Mrs. Scott, would work with him on his essay a few times a week.
Another question Nick Park was asked was what he has been doing and what he will continue to do to prepare for the interview portion of the application. Nick explains he had just learned about being accepted as a finalist for Lilly when he began work to prepare for his next two weeks (pre-interview). He explained he spent his entire 5th-hour class working with Mrs. Scott on how to plan for the next two weeks. Nick also said he has been practicing timed writing as he will have to do a fifteen-minute timed writing portion during the interview. This week, Nick plans to practice even more on his timed writings, as well as, next week mock interview practice for the next section itself.
Nick Park was also asked what it would mean to him if he was awarded this scholarship. Park told how the scholarship would mean more to him than just the money he could be awarded, but really the culmination of all the hard work he has put into his academics, athletics, and all other areas in his life. He also said it would show others the sacrifices that come with all the hard work are worth it. Nick also said it will give him the opportunity to solely focus on his education and improving his community rather than worry as much about paying his tuition.
Nick Park was asked if awarded the Lilly Scholarship what school he would want to attend and what major he hopes to study. Nick says if he won the scholarship he would hope to attend Purdue University. Nick says he is planning on majoring in Aerospace or Nuclear Engineering.
Nick Park is proof that hard work pays off. It is very hard to make it this far into the application process and Nick has had to make many sacrifices to even make it this far. As of now, Park has earned some scholarship money (to be determined) as a Lilly Finalist. Nick is an example of a person who is willing to fight and work hard for what he wants. No matter the outcome, Nick should hold on to this experience as it is a great accomplishment to even be accepted as a finalist for the Lilly Scholarship. Good luck to Nick Park, we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.
